AVONDALE, La. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans was saved by the two-man format.
In 2017, the first year of this concept, six of the 10 top players in the Official World Golf Ranking as well as 13 of the 25 top players signed up to participate. In 2018, Zurich had 11 of the Top 15 players and nine of the Top 13 in 2017. This is impressive considering that it’s traditionally scheduled during the post-Masters hangover.
Steve Worthy, the tournament director, boasts about the fact that four of the six best players in the entire world were on the three last winning teams.
The deck was stacked in his favor this year. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are both here, but Rickie and Jordan Fowler have taken a break. Masters champion Jon Rahm is also taking a rest, as he defends his title at the Mexico Open next week. After defending champion Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, and a few Zurich ambassadors like Collin Morikawa are gone, the field quickly drops off.
Worthy was aware that he would be in a difficult position when the schedule was released for the season. Seven out of ten designated events were scheduled before the Zurich, including two consecutive weeks in the previous weeks.
Worthy, a LSU football fan, said that you can recruit as much as you like, but you will get some players and not others.
Worthy noted that the field they assembled was probably better than his expectations. He cited U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick, and Presidents Cup player Tom Kim as blue-chip players.
LYNCH : Poor invitations could turn Zurich Classic into a joke
The PGA Tour has always considered this year to be a transitional year, as it responds to LIV Golf’s existential threat. The Tour outlined its plan of eight events with limited field sizes, no cuts, and huge purses. Next season there will be a varsity team and a J.V. Call it Power Five conferences or Boise State fighting for the good cause. Worthy is still optimistic that the Zurich Classic will be elevated.
Worthy stated, “We certainly have conversations about it.” They feel that it will be three to four months before they get there. The Tour is speaking to all interested sponsors, to see what options they have, how it fits into the schedule, and how it can be made work.
We’d love to be promoted. Many tournaments would love to be. We can do this by doing the right thing over the next few months.
The Tour has a problem because there are more tournaments who would like to host an event, but not enough windows to play such events. Worthy, in a perfect scenario, would love to see the team format continue and the momentum it has created. It seems unlikely that a tournament where the players only hit half of their shots and which doesn’t award world ranking points, or even earn them a Masters ticket, will be approved to one of the elite events.
The PGA Tour has played in New Orleans every year since 1958. It dates back to 1938. It is not going anywhere, but will likely continue to market itself as an alternative to the 72-hole, stroke-play competition. This will attract foodies, and pamper wives who are involved in the decisions.
Billy Horschel is a Zurich Ambassador and two-time champion of the tournament. He said, “I believe that non-designated games will hold their own.” “I think that this is a good example. This is a fantastic field. It’s a great field. It’s unique.
How will this all play out? It’s still a waiting-and-seeing game. We’ll wait two, three or four years to see if this was the right thing for the PGA Tour.
The Tour’s only team event during the FedEx Cup will be a team-player. The Zurich Classic will need to fight hard for everything it has. But then, it wouldn’t want it any other way.
